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'Separated at birth' takes on a double meaning in Wendy Morgan's new novel of supernatural powers bordering on dark and evil. The novel opens with an angry Candra Bowen scheming to impersonate her twin sister, Megan McKenna, after having her put into a coma with a spell of black magic and hiding her at the home of a Haitian voodoo woman named Delila. Candra is obviously an identical twin because she takes over her sister's life, her apartment and her Honda Civic. No background is given for the switch initially, but we learn through Candra's thoughts, that she is bitter because she's had a rough life while Megan was adopted by more affluent parents and she's 'had it all.' Not only does she want to impersonate Megan, she also wants to take over her life so completely, and she wants her dead and gone. But first Candra has to make sure no one will suspect her before she gives Delila the go-ahead to move Megan from coma mode to dead-and-disappeared mode. Candra realized when she was young that she had powers beyond the normal, and to cultivate them she learned from the local Jamaican community, even to the point of acquiring an accent. When she moves in on Megan's part of New England, she has to change her accent and pretend to know Megan's boyfriend as well as Megan's own occult friends. It's difficult enough for Candra to bring this off, and the book itself seems as labored as Candra trying to do her evil-as-good-twin routine. To make matters worse, Megan comes out of her coma when Candra goes to visit Delila, and thinks Candra is there to rescue her! Although this novel gives some information about Candra and her reasons for Megan being in a coma, the book is hard to follow because Megan's history and character as well as how she ended up in the voodoo woman's house are unexplained. Although the sisters continue in the story together, with Candra looking for a chance to do evil while Megan only wants to do good, the book seems incomplete and confusing. There is a reason for this, however -- the novel itself is a twin and POSSESSION is part two. The story was separated by the publishers into two novels but with no clue to readers that they will have to rush out and read first its sister novel, OBSESSION, to learn the original family background. Despite the first novel being shown on the inside cover, there is no indication that the books are related. So, a warning to devotees of the supernatural terror abundant in this story, read the novels in order: OBSESSION followed by POSSESSION -- unless, of course, you are psychic!
Reviewed by Tess Allegra, August 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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